Supplies of broccoli in the United States remain in abundance as warm weather drives plant growth. Producers are in the process of transitioning to the Yuma season for winter, and are already seeing good growing conditions which are adding to volume already present.
"Our Salinas growing region is in its last stages for the season," said Ethan Stewart, of Steinbeck Country Produce in California. "Broccoli supplies are currently seeing high volume coming through. At the end of next week, we will officially transition to Yuma. Production did start there 3 weeks ago and we are already seeing a high volume due to warmer conditions which has been accelerating plant growth."
Market weak
Broccoli is now in full production in a number of regions in the United States. With large yields coming out of many of these regions, it has created an oversupply situation. Demand is strong, however with the saturated market, this has resulted in weaker FOBs."According to the USDA market report, prices on broccoli are low," he said. "Bunches are sitting at $6.95, while crowns are at $7.45. It's been driven by the amount of product around. Yuma is now in full production. Yuma acreage has moved forward in combination with an overlap of the Salinas based shippers. There are also regionalized broccoli deals running in the Southeast, Texas as well as Mexico. This combination has resulted in an oversupply and low prices these last few weeks. We are waiting to see what will happen toward Christmas when produce items typically pick up in price."
For more information:
Ethan Stewart
Steinbeck Country Produce
Tel: +1 (831) 754-1577